LEARN + CHINESE / 178 of 300 HSK 5
Set the Whole Scene in Order例 · 先把钥匙放在桌上
The suitcase is open on the bed, and you’re packing for a trip. 把 lets you bring a known object forward and say what you do to it: pack it, move it, use it, or take care of it. The result of the action is the point of the sentence.
先把钥匙放在桌上，回家就不用找了。
Xiān bǎ yàoshi fàng zài zhuō shàng, huí jiā jiù búyòng zhǎo le.
Put the keys on the table first, so you won’t have to look for them when you get home.
Here the keys are already known, so they come after 把. The phrase 放在桌上 tells us where they end up.
我把照片发给同事了，你也看看吧。
Wǒ bǎ zhàopiàn fā gěi tóngshì le, nǐ yě kànkan ba.
I sent the photos to my colleague; have a look too.
The second half is an ordinary suggestion. In the first half, 把 puts the photos before the completed action of sending them.
周末我把孩子的衣服洗干净了。
Zhōumò wǒ bǎ háizi de yīfu xǐ gānjìng le.
I got the children’s clothes clean over the weekend.
The result matters here: the clothes are clean after the washing. 把 is a natural fit because the action affects them.
Hint · 힌트
A 把 sentence needs an object both speakers can identify, and the verb phrase needs to say what was done with it. “我把钥匙放在桌上” works; just “我把钥匙” leaves the action unfinished.
In Real Life
Use a plain object sentence when you are simply introducing something: 我买了钥匙 (I bought some keys). Use 把 when the next part tells what you did with those keys: 我把钥匙放在桌上.
Vocabulary
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
bǎ | object marker used before an affected object |
yàoshi | key |
fàng | to put; place |
zhuō shàng | on the table |
xiān | first; beforehand |
huí jiā | to go home |
búyòng | need not; no need to |
zhǎo | to look for |
zhàopiàn | photo |
fā gěi | to send to |
tóngshì | colleague |
kànkan | to have a look |
háizi | child |
yīfu | clothes |
xǐ gānjìng | to wash clean |
zhōumò | weekend |
zhuōzi | table |
guānshàng | to close; shut |
dǎkāi | to open |
shōuhǎo | to put away safely |
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